Rare Stones vs. Substitutes

Aeric

In your experience, has working with a rare stone that has the identical properties of a less rare substitute afforded you more powerful magical effects?

For instance, golden topaz is often affiliated with the Sun, and bestows courage and wealth upon the user. Citrine is often cited as a more affordable substitute with the same solar powers, on account of its yellow colour.

I suppose the same might be said for diamonds and clear quartz, both transparent stones, and emerald and peridot, sapphire and lapis or tanzanite, etc.

Do the rarer stones provide greater powers?
 

Darkmage

It depends on the stone and the user. Substitutions are well-known and can be quite effective.

I've also found lab-created stones are just as good as the real thing, which is good, seeing as my favourite stone is ruby. :/

Check out Scott Cunningham's book Crystal, Gem, and Metal Magic. It's still in print so you can get it through Amazon or another bookseller. I'm not one for his new age bunny fluff outlook, but when it comes to the magical properties of things, this guy knew his stuff and his works are good for quick reference.
 

Padma

I believe the same, Darkmage. While every stone has its own unique properties, using a lesser stone with similar properties works just as well, I have found. I also believe that lab created stones are sometimes much more effective than the gene producing parent stone it came from. In essence, lab stones are created from the real stones...in the same way really that clones are made.

However, real stones are torn screaming from the earth, sometimes sold for heaps of money in the case of precious stones, floated on the black market in some cases; lab grown stones suffer no violence or negativity, and therefore I sometimes find them more energy-pure than the original! It depends on the stone, I suppose, and the beliefs of the user...
 

Tarot Orat

However, real stones are torn screaming from the earth, sometimes sold for heaps of money in the case of precious stones, floated on the black market in some cases; lab grown stones suffer no violence or negativity, and therefore I sometimes find them more energy-pure than the original! It depends on the stone, I suppose, and the beliefs of the user...

:bugeyed: I never thought of it that way before! It does make me reconsider mined stones...although I've always liked the fact that they were created when the geological formation around them was created, they're inherent to the earth. BUt maybe that's a good reason to leave them there!

To answer the original question...the very precious stones are the hardest and most durable (8 or higher on the Moh's scale), and I do find them to have a stronger energy than the softer semi-precious stones. (Quartz is sort of in between; it's got a hardness of 7, and amethyst was a very precious stone in Europe until the 1500s when it was discovered in vast quantities in Brazil and suddenly became more affordable.)

And there I go getting all mineralogical again. Anyway, real diamonds are so intense I can barely work with them, as are the deeper-colored corundums (rubies and dark sapphires). Lighter sapphires and emeralds feel about the same as the semiprecious equivalents, a little stronger but not overwhelming. For daily use I find the semiprecious stones much more comfortable and easy to work with. I pull out the big guns when I need to do major work but otherwise they live in their boxes!
 

Tarot Orat

I'm going to briefly get mineralogical again about the term "rare stones" - that doesn't necessarily correspond to precious and semiprecious. Benitoite is one of the rarest stones on Earth, but it's not "precious." And diamonds are not at all rare (in certain parts of South Africa, they're not just as common as gravel, they ARE gravel). I'd really rather have the benitoite, myself!
 

shelikes2read

The good news is, if you want to use some of the more precious stones like diamonds, it does not require a large stone in order to get a solid result. I have discovered that it's easy to get the results from the diamond ring that I worn since I got engaged, Which has a modest sized stone. Crystallized carbon packs a heckuva punch. :) Which is good, because it means you won't have to break the bank in order to try it out.
 

Padma

Tarot Orat and Shelikes - interesting...I've never been able to work with diamonds, myself - they give me a headache...I've never really liked them. For some reason they really repel me.
I do remember reading that diamonds must be kept very clean, because while they vacuum up negativity in your environment, they also don't release it, and so bind it to your chakras. I don't know if that is true though.

Thinking of diamond gravel roads brings to mind the beach in Hawaii that is completely made of Olivine (the less-pure or valued form of Peridot.) I'd love to go there! :D

I do like rubies, but prefer them to be pigeon's blood, and opaque. Same with emeralds - dark green and opaque are nice. Sapphires - I do have some, use only occasionally...the darker blues are harder for me to work with...though my wedding ring is made of black star sapphire, and I love those stones!

I went through a period when I could not work at all with opaque stones - everything had to be crystally-clear! So I suppose it depends what you are going through. And it does change.

I find crystals to be constantly fascinating and mysterious! And I love walking around with pieces of the planet on me :) it's - somehow - so reassuring! ETA well, chemically identical pieces, lol! (lab stones)
 

Padma

:bugeyed: I never thought of it that way before! It does make me reconsider mined stones...although I've always liked the fact that they were created when the geological formation around them was created, they're inherent to the earth. BUt maybe that's a good reason to leave them there!

My theory is that gem structures are like crystals in a computer - remove them all and the earth will collapse ;p I am no doubt terribly incorrect in my belief, but it feels to me as though crystals are like the trees, oceans, and the delicate balance of animals and insects - tamper enough with it, remove enough of them, mess with their basics, and the whole planet will suddenly crumble :bugeyed: Lol! So whenever it is possible, I buy only lab-grown gems.

But that is just my half-cocked theory ;p I have no real proof to sustain it. ;)
 

DownwardSpiral

It depends on the stone and the user.

I totally agree with this as well. And then labradorite comes to mind : ) It also makes a difference where on the body the stone/crystal is placed.
 

Aeric

I REALLY REALLY like the comparison of lab-grown gems against natural ones!

It suddenly brought to my mind the idea of why meteorites are regarded as such highly magical objects, because they're sky-born, star-metal, sent from beyond, not extracted from the earth and depleting a resource. I have a silver ring set with meteorite that has set off vibrations far stronger than lab or natural Earth stones.

Anyway, instead of taking one of Earth's "bones" or "children," we're growing our own, sustaining the natural resource. I forgot that astronomers sometimes grew their own low-grade rubies and corunda for use in telescopes. Now I don't see why using lab stones wouldn't have an equal effect as natural ones.

I love it. I love it a lot. Thanks for that!